Whether you're learning to play guitar to justify a leather jacket or hoping to coerce attractive strangers into your boudoir, the process can quickly become an uphill struggle. After the initial honeymoon period of posing and misjudged attempts to start a house party sing-along, most people tend to give up for good.
With Rocksmith, however, things feel different. The USB cable that comes with the game plugs into any electric guitar or bass, turning your console into a magical tutor. After you've tuned your instrument and learned the basics, you're dropped into an actual song with the backing of a full band to cover up your fumbling.
The incredible scope of pre-amp and post-amp stuff you can tweak would have made it a cool purchase for any guitar player, so it's a shame that it isn't all unlocked at the start. The mini-games that help teach techniques are much better, adding a way to sharpen up your guitar skills that isn't wholly tedious.
Difficulty levels adapt during each song to ensure you're always being adequately challenged, but step down again if it proves too much. Experienced musicians will quickly unlock tough challenges purely by playing well enough to initiate the inclusion of advanced techniques, while newcomers are coddled with a more comfortable pace.
The adaptive difficulty is a great inclusion, but when you're hopping between two levels of complexity it can sometimes be a little jarring - it's frustrating to feel yourself finding the groove just as the difficulty level decreases, putting you back down to a simpler mode.
Minor niggles prevent it from being perfect, but don't make the verdict any less simple: you'd be mad to buy an electric guitar and not fork out for Rocksmith as well. You won't become an axe-god through Rocksmith alone, but it's a ludicrously entertaining way to practice. For that alone, it's worth having.
14 comments so far...
CunningSmile on 14 Dec '12 said:
Yay, by popular demand
Dave101 on 14 Dec '12 said:
guitar hero got 9, as did all the rockbands, yet this gets 8?
im pretty sure the subsequent guitar hero games were ALOT more polished than the first/second....
unlockables mark it down?
if your reading the review mulling over buying it, and always really wanted to learn to play, get it.
ive had it for a month or two and if you can play it every few days (who doesnt play COD that often?) you will love it. the learning curve does get steeper, some may switch off, the tracks that come with it are great for learning, even if you dont really like the look of the set list. the rock dlc is great for me, almost every song a gem. the game has levelled me up to a point where its too hard, and i laugh out loud at it, its smart, knows i can do it, and i take up the challenge, this game speaks to me in a way ive never experienced.
PonderingWalrus on 14 Dec '12 said:
There are probably other reasons for the score too. It might be because, since this is learning to play the proper guitar, it's just not as much of a pick up and play game as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Or there could very well be other little flaws they just haven't mentioned in the review.
The number seems pretty irrelevant here anyway, if somebody has no interest in playing guitar they won't like it. If they do it's a good way for them to learn.
There, I summed up the review in a couple of sentences.
PonderingWalrus on 14 Dec '12 said:
On another note I reckon I will get this at some point (probably when it's cheaper) if only so I can learn to play Slither by Velvet Revolver (all tabs on the internet seem to be blocked for it).
Richie LFC W on 14 Dec '12 said:
Proxy's get you past that just fine
OT: Been considering this game for a while, I already play guitar so wouldn't be using it to learn, but the songs look fun to play and the different amps and stuff look fun to play with. I'll probably pick this up when it's cheaper as well.
Metalrodent on 14 Dec '12 said:
so it works with bass guitar then? I might just pick this up when it gets cheaper then (as my current skill level is sucky and can't be bothered with paying for lessens)
PonderingWalrus on 14 Dec '12 said:
Blocked probably wasn't the best term to use. I actually meant "removed due to copyright".
PonderingWalrus on 14 Dec '12 said:
Just putting this out there but did anyone else lol at the review tagline or was it just me?
richwk on 17 Dec '12 said:
I sold my copy on Ebay about a fortnight after i bought it. I'm already not too bad on the ol' geetar, and wanted to learn some new songs, but i found the lag between hitting the note, and hearing it via the TV, too long for the song to be playable. It should be mentioned in the review that the game came packaged with a set of instructions for reducing the lag and the best way is to route your XBox sound through an analogue amplifier. I didn't have that option sadly.
That aside, if the lag is not a problem for you, I would definitely recommend the game. The bundled epiphone les paul junior that you can get is probably worth the investment if you don't already own a guitar.
CunningSmile on 17 Dec '12 said:
There was about a year lag between the US release and the UK version. They got Bass as a paid for DLC, but we apparently get it included. Not often we get a better deal than the Yanks but this seems like one.
dan958 on 17 Dec '12 said:
Definitely a brilliant tool for beginners, it is really helping me learn how to play.
Read my review at http://ordinarygamer.co.uk/2012/12/13/rocksmith-review/
PonderingWalrus on 20 Dec '12 said:
I'm still utterly torn on whether or not I want to get this.
If it can teach me to play the awesome songs included in the game on a real guitar from the moment I start then I am all for it. If it is going to make me jump through loads of hoops and spend an hour explaining what hammer-ons and pull-offs are then I'm not interested.
Dave101 on 24 Dec '12 said:
ponderingwalrus, it is pick up and play, i put it on for 5 minutes, or 2 hours. Just like playing COD type games 10 years ago got me 'used to' the stick layout, this is the first game to make you used to a new format, more will likely follow but it is a game as much as a learning tool. the reviews are supposed to be impartial, i.e if the reviewer doesnt like skyrim, it will still get a 9 or 10, not a 2 or 3. My point is yes plenty wont like the game for its type, not its content. As a game, it is polished, sophisticated and does things no other game does, look at any review of any classic, original game, they are all 9 or 10. Call of duty 2 got so much praise lavished on it, yet they have (technically at least) improved the game with each sequel. just looked at COD, 2 3 4 and black ops all get 9, and black ops summary itsself says 'wont convert non-fans'. Still gets a 9 then? Despite being so many sequels in? with the same formula? with nothing particularly new?
oh, just saw your last post, the techniques section teaches you the hammer ons and pull offs, it says what they are in one sentence, then lets you play them, in specific riffs to focus on the technique, or simply 'back out' of the section and go back to songs. most the techniques i listened to the explanation, tried it once, then went back to the songs. my favorite is muse unnatural selection, i can play it pretty proficiently now but because of that, it is upping the difficulty on me, because of the game pushing me, im getting some pretty hot moves down! a good simple one is pat benetar, hit me with your best shot, you can pick that one up in your 1st couple of goes.
Additional, i have little/no interest in bass, but because its all included i will probably end up buying a bass just for this game. its THAT good.
PonderingWalrus on 18 Jan '13 said:
Kind of late but I still feel the need to respond. I recognize that reviews are not done on personal preferences but what I meant by "pick up and play" was more to do with accessibility rather than how easy it is to start playing. Some might argue Rocksmith is more a of a learning tool than a game. What I am saying is, basically, this game was never going to get a perfect 10 because not everybody has an interest in learning to play the guitar; unfortunately some people will have no interest in this game.
I bought the game anyway and wasn't sure what to make of it at first. After my second day playing though, I am quite enjoying it. It's a fun way to practice songs and learn new ones and it's nice to be able to play along to stuff with the authentic guitar tones.